Warhol loses Prince copyright case in Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Rules Against Warhol in Copyright Infringement Case

Background

The late Andy Warhol has been found guilty of copyright infringement by the Supreme Court. The case centered around a series of silk screens based on a photograph of the late singer Prince, taken by music photographer Lynn Goldsmith in 1981. Warhol’s foundation argued that the images were “fair use” under federal copyright law, but the court disagreed.

The Ruling

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the 7-2 decision, which rejected the foundation’s argument. The majority of justices held that the first fair use factor in the infringement dispute favored Goldsmith, rather than the foundation. This means that the foundation’s commercial licensing to the magazine company was not considered fair use.

What’s Next?

This is a developing story and we will update as more information becomes available.

• Andy Warhol has been found guilty of copyright infringement by the Supreme Court
• The case centered around a series of silk screens based on a photograph of Prince
• Warhol’s foundation argued that the images were “fair use” under federal copyright law
• The court disagreed and held that the first fair use factor favored the photographer
• This is a developing story and we will update as more information becomes available

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